Hello dear readers,
It’s lovely to be sending you another missive from my bookshelves, I hope this one finds you well. Thank you so much for subscribing, it boggles my mind sometimes that so many people are interested in what I read!
This week I’ve trodden some familiar paths with authors I know I love, and had a few diversions along the way. Let’s dive in!
One. Yellowface by R F Kuang
This is such a fascinating novel. You might remember that I read Babel by Kuang not too long ago, which was a historical fantasy epic. This is something completely different, a novel about racism in publishing. When you put it like that it seems like an odd thing for Kuang to do, but in reading it I found that she was chewing over similar ideas, but in a completely different setting. The main character, June, is a struggling white novelist who is friends with a hugely successful author, Athena, who is Asian American. Athena dies, right in front of June in a freak accident, and June steals the manuscript of her latest novel and passes it off as her own. Chaos ensues as she goes deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of deception. It’s a wild ride which does get pretty white knuckle by the end. I found it strayed into melodrama, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
How I read it: All at once on a train journey
Two. Young Anne by Dorothy Whipple
This was Whipple’s first novel, and was loosely based on her own life. It follows the ‘Anne’ of the title from her childhood to young adulthood, as she grows up, loses her father, gets her first job, falls in love, marries and then has to contend with whether she has done the right thing. It’s a beautiful evocation of what makes a life, and that we are never really finished making our lives. Anne longs to be married, as many women of her generation did (and still do), but then finds it has not satisfied her at all. I love how Whipple’s novels are quietly feminist, not that she hides the feminism, but that it comes through in the lives and struggles of her characters rather than being explicitly drawn. The setting is also beautiful and there’s some very funny characters, including a particularly horrifying aunt.
How I read it: At a spa! What a treat.
Three. Start with why by Simon Sinek
Sinek is known for a great TED talk on inspiration leadership and generally being an interesting commentator on work and leading teams. This book is an extended version of his TED talk and it really shows. He repeats himself a lot, and doesn’t add a lot to his core argument that businesses should start with their why in order to be successful. He uses a handful of examples all the way through, including Apple which he comes across as borderline obsessed with, and a couple of American airlines. I don’t think I got anything out of it that I couldn’t have got from the 15 minute talk, so head there first if you’d like to hear more.
How I read it: A commuting book that took longer than it should have because I got exasperated a lot
Four. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
I read this for a new book club I’ve just joined. It’s a bit of a long one for a book club if I’m honest, which is probably why only three people made it through it! I did make it to the end, despite finding one of the two main characters quite annoying, and the other a bit of a wet blanket. It follows two different time periods, and two different crises. Firstly Chicago in the 80s during the AIDS crisis, a sprawling tragedy with terrible amounts of death and suffering, which is put alongside a personal tragedy as a mother follows her estranged daughter to Paris to try and rebuild their relationship. I found that I enjoyed specific bits, but the overall picture didn’t win me over.
How I read it: At home lounging on the sofa
Five. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
My monthly dose of Rundell this time takes in her first fantasy novel. Although it’s written for children (roughly 9+), I think any fantasy fan would get a lot out of it. She creates such a vivid world, one parallel to our own, but with magic and wondrous beasts based on multiple mythologies. There’s a deeper message in there about the beauty of the world and our responsibility to look after it but mostly I was swept up in the story and the central characters of Christopher and Mal who go on an adventure together to save this magical world.
How I read it: All in one big gulp as is my norm with Rundell novels
Six. City of Brass by Shannon Chakraborty
I recently read Chakraborty’s latest fantasy novel and really enjoyed it so I thought I would go back and try her debut series. This one takes place in a world populated by ‘daeva’, magical beings kept separate from humans by an edict from the Prophet Suleiman. My one criticism would be it’s slightly over-complicated, there’s a lot going on and some of it felt a bit unnecessary. But it’s an enjoyable plot, and I liked the main characters. I’ve already read the other two of the series so expect to hear more about them in next month’s email!
How I read it: on holiday on the Isle of Mull
Book of the month: I think Impossible Creatures has to take the win for being such a transporting story. I hope it has a sequel.
Thanks for reading, do forward this email on to a friend if you think they’d like it.
And of course do drop me a line with what you’ve been reading lately, I’d love to hear!